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What they said: Nick O'Hern

Q. Cool, wet day. A lot of guys were struggling, but not you. Nine birdies and not a blemish on your card. What was going so well for you out there??

NICK O'HERN: I started off having to make a few par putts, crucial ones, sort of four� , five� footers.

Once I made those it got me going. Then I made a few birdies on the front nine, which was my back nine.

It was a strange day. I turned the corner 4� under and thought, Well, this is quite nice, and then all of a sudden I got on a bit of a birdie binge there. So chipped in and probably made one long putt.

Other than that, I just hit the ball lovely all day was able to hit it close. The rain has never bothered me. I've played the European Tour for so many years, so you get a lot of rain there. It's very rare we get rain over here, so it was actually a nice welcome change.

Q. You played in the afternoon. Are you looking forward after posting that great number to getting out early in the morning where generally there are better conditions??

NICK O'HERN: Hopefully, yeah. I mean, you never know what can happen with the weather. Probably going to be chilly in the morning.

It's been a beautiful experience today. I mean, the whole week has been great. I managed to go play and the Olympic Club on Tuesday in San Francisco, and then watched the A's beat the Tigers. It's been a pretty fun week so far.

Q. Given where you are on the Money List, how much does this infuse optimism for you moving forward in this tournament??

NICK O'HERN: Oh, I'm always optimistic. I mean, I know I've got my work cut out as far as the money list goes.

I know what I need to do. I need to play good golf. I've been doing that, I just haven't had the results unfortunately.

Today is a perfect start to what I need to do.

Q. Just comment on the round for us, if you can.

NICK O'HERN: No bogeys is always good. I hit the ball very solidly. Nothing too special. Only thing that really happened though is I chipped in on I think the 4th hole up the hill. That's always a tough stretch, sort of 3, 4, 5, 6. I managed to get there with maybe 2� under, which is quite rare on this golf course I think.

Last year I think I made two birdies in two rounds, so I've certainly eclipsed that. It's a nice start, I played well, but there is a long way to go.

Q. Talk a little bit about your season. Not your best.

NICK O'HERN: Yeah, it's certainly been my toughest season as a professional. I had one good week in Memphis this year. I made quite a number of cuts but always finished well back in the field.

I can't really put a finger on it. I feel like the last two, three months my game is really starting to turn around in the right direction. Going back to a lot of old things I worked on in years past. Just sort refreshed in my mind on what sort of worked in the past. I think that is starting to pay off.

I haven't had the results I would like. I missed the entire FedExCup playoff, so I had plenty of time to practice and think about things and get ready for the Fall Series.

I played pretty good in Vegas last week. Just didn't hole a putt. Today I holed pretty much everything I looked at, so that's always nice.

Q. I bet the real key is getting you close to wine country, though.

NICK O'HERN: I think that's what it is. Well, the great thing about this place is it reminds me so much of Australia, whether it's the Yarra Valley or the Perth Hills where I'm from. It's got that beautiful feel with the sky blue, the brown hills, and the green golf courses. It's pretty peaceful place to play.

I've been fortunate earlier in the week to play Olympic, which I had never played, and gone to the baseball.

I'm just doing it all this week. It's a lot fun.

Q. Which game did you go to??

NICK O'HERN: I watched Game 3 of the A's� Tigers. I think they won 3� 1, something like that. I've never been to a playoff baseball game before, and it was quite an experience.

I was in my golf clothes which I was a little bit worried about. All that green and yellow and I had a pink shirt on. I didn't quite fit in, but it was a lot of fun.

Q. Is there something about having your back against the wall? Certainly good timing to play like you just played.

NICK O'HERN: Yeah, it's very hard to keep it out of the front of your mind. I think guys think you got to put it in the back of the mind to go out and play golf.

I felt very relaxed today. The putter was working today, which has always been the key for me. If I putt well, I play well. Pretty simple.

To be honest, after last year playing here, I thought it was going to be pretty tough, this golf course, for me. It's not the shortest one; the ball doesn't travel that far.

As you say, you hit it straight, you chip and putt well, you can play well anywhere.

Q. Did you have two stretches of three straight birdies??

NICK O'HERN: I think so.

Q. 17, 18, 1 and 3 through 5.

NICK O'HERN: Yeah, that sounds about right. I was on a bit of a roll there and everything I looked at was going in, which was nice. That's always a good feeling. I was hitting it close, too.

I just had the one chip� in and I holed and then I probably holed about a 30� footer on 18. Other than that, everything else was probably within 10 feet.

Q. Have you thoughts about how your situation would translate to next year's season the way everything is changing as far as the top 125??

NICK O'HERN: No, I've got three events left. I need to play well. That's what I'm focusing on. I haven't looked past this year yet. I try not to get ahead of myself. That's a dangerous thing.

Q. And this is a career best today??

NICK O'HERN: 62, I think it was, 9� under. Yeah, that's about as good as I've shot. I remember shooting that in the Aussie PGA in '06 when I won, so that's a good omen.

I think I might've done it in the Italian Open many years ago on the European Tour. So 9� under is not bad.